Luke Littler’s historic World Championship dream ended after he lost in the final to Luke Humphries.

The 16-year-old debutant has set Alexandra Palace alight over the last fortnight and was one win away from producing one of the greatest sporting stories of all time by becoming the youngest world champion.

But he fell at the final hurdle and was left in tears as Humphries showed why he is the new world number one with a scintillating 7-4 victory, which saw him lift the Sid Waddell trophy for the first time.

It is a landmark success for the 28-year-old, who has now won four of the last five major tournaments after an incredible few months.

Although this was his biggest win of all, it was not exactly the most popular as the Ally Pally crowd were desperate for their new star’s amazing journey to finish in glory.

Humphries may have been the champion, but Littler received a hero’s reception at the end of the match and he is the story of the tournament.

Life will never be the same for Littler, who now has a global profile, as his exploits have transcended the world of darts.

He may have fallen just short of achieving sporting immortality, but this is just the beginning for Littler and his time will surely come, with many tipping him to become a multiple world champion.

More immediately, he looks set to be handed a lucrative place in the Premier League, which kicks off next month.

He will not have many regrets from the last couple of weeks, but a dart at double two in the seventh set may be one of them as had it gone in he would have gone 5-2 in front in the race to seven.

Instead, Humphries stole the set and then reeled off the next five to claim glory in style.

He has now won his last 19 matches and will be seeing this as the start of a period of possible domination as he is playing at a level no one can currently compete with.

The pair have met before when Humphries beat a then 12-year-old Littler in a pub tournament in 2019 and both have enjoyed a meteoric rise since then.

Littler must have thought he was back in the pub with the way Humphries started as he won five successive legs to give himself darts for a 2-0 lead.

He missed, though, and Littler pounced with 142 and 120 checkouts to level at 1-1.

After ‘Cool Hand’ went 2-1 up, Littler hit back by reeling off three successive sets to lead 4-2.

The seventh set proved pivotal as Littler missed double two to go three up and Humphries, who had earlier taken out the big fish, capitalised to steal it and then drew level at 4-4 after a 121 checkout.

The tide had truly turned and Humphries continued his hot streak to go 6-4 up, which left outgoing referee Russ Bray consoling a tearful Littler, with his opponent finishing the job and sinking to his knees in joy.

Erling Haaland has handed Manchester City a major injury boost after returning to training.

Haaland, with 19 goals in all competitions this season, has been sidelined with a foot injury since City’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on December 6.

But the Norway international was pictured in training with the squad ahead of their third-round FA Cup clash against Huddersfield on Sunday.

Jeremy Doku, who has missed his side’s last eight matches with a muscular injury, also trained with his team-mates.

Both players had previously been training individually.

The imminent return of Haaland and Doku will send a warning to City’s rivals with Kevin De Bruyne also stepping up his return.

The Belgian star, who has been out of action since suffering a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season, made his comeback to the matchday squad an as unused substitute in City’s comfortable 2-0 win over Sheffield United last weekend.

Pep Guardiola’s City trail Liverpool by five points in the Premier League with a game in hand.

Antonio Rudiger headed home a late winner as LaLiga leaders Real Madrid opened 2024 with a 1-0 victory over Mallorca at the Bernabeu.

Real edged in front when the centre-back connected with Luka Modric’s 78th-minute corner, having survived some scares with Mallorca hitting the woodwork via Antonio Sanchez and Samu Costa.

The hosts then did so themselves, substitute Brahim Diaz heading against a post when looking certain to score, before Rudiger showed greater accuracy to ensure they celebrated boss Carlo Ancelotti’s new contract with three points.

Real went three points clear of second-placed Girona ahead of them playing Atletico Madrid later on Wednesday.

Ancelotti – whose new deal to 2026 was announced on Friday – made four changes from the 1-0 victory at Alaves, which included bringing in Andriy Lunin in goal for Kepa Arrizabalaga, who had been recovering from illness, and the fit-again Vinicius Junior in attack, for his first appearance since sustaining an injury on Brazil duty in November.

Lunin came out of his box early on to intercept a ball with a diving header before Cyle Larin could latch on to it, before Jude Bellingham saw a header at the other end caught by Predrag Rajkovic.

Vinicius Junior was then to the fore, shooting just wide after a delightful through ball from Modric, missing with another attempt and then hitting a piledriver from just outside the box that the diving Rajkovic did well to keep out.

Mallorca had offered little going forward, but almost grabbed a shock lead in the 42nd minute as Sanchez saw a header come down off the underside of the Real crossbar.

Javier Aguirre’s visitors threatened again in first-half stoppage time as Larin sent an effort bouncing wide, and after Toni Kroos curled a free-kick over early in the second half for Real, Mallorca were then once again denied by the goalframe, with Costa unleashing a shot from distance that struck the foot of a post.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Real then gathered some momentum again and in the 69th minute Rodrygo brought a parry out of Rajkovic and the loose ball came to Diaz, only for the former Manchester City man to head against the upright from close range.

The hosts then made the breakthrough nine minutes later as skipper Modric sent a corner into the area and Rudiger was there to power past Rajkovic.

Top-scorer Bellingham sent an effort off-target as Real sought to add to their lead in the closing stages.

Andre Onana will link up with the Cameroon squad for the Africa Cup of Nations after Manchester United play Tottenham on January 14, the PA news agency understands.

It had been reported that United were in talks with Onana’s national team over the goalkeeper’s release date for the tournament in Ivory Coast that gets under way a week on Saturday.

The 27-year-old is now set stay with the club for their Premier League match against Spurs at Old Trafford the following day before joining up with Cameroon – whose campaign then starts on January 15 with a match against Guinea.

United also have one fixture before the Tottenham game, playing at Wigan in the FA Cup third round next Monday.

The Cameroonian football association is understood to have agreed to be flexible on the release date for a player who was persuaded to come out of international retirement earlier this season.

Onana, who joined United from Inter Milan in a £47million deal last summer, had quit international football after the 2022 World Cup following a dispute with head coach Rigobert Song.

Erik ten Hag’s side could be boosted further for their clash with Tottenham after confirming that Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez have both returned to training following long-term injuries.

Brazil midfielder Casemiro has not played since the Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle on November 1, while influential defender Martinez has been sidelined since September.

United said on Wednesday that the pair had started full training with the team after working individually in recent weeks.

Massimiliano Allegri is determined to lead Juventus to another Coppa Italia success.

Juve, the competition’s most successful side with 14 titles, are favourites to lift the trophy after holders Inter Milan and Serie A champions Napoli were both knocked out.

Standing in Juve’s way of a quarter-final tie against Frosinone is Serie A’s bottom club Salernitana, who travel to Turin on Thursday.

And Allegri, who has been in charge for four of the club’s cup successes, is aware of the opportunity that awaits a team who have not lifted any silverware since 2021.

He said: “The Coppa Italia means a lot to us, as it always has.

“That applies even more so this season as we’re only competing in this competition and in the league, so we must do everything possible to get to face Frosinone in the quarter-finals.

“Anything can happen in a knockout tie, as we saw with Napoli and Inter getting knocked out. The early stages of the Coppa Italia may not interest everyone, but there’s a trophy at stake.

“Losing or drawing a game at this club can almost be a catastrophe, which is exactly why we have to give our all to progress. That’s what’s great about being at Juve.”

Thursday’s opponents Salernitana have won just two of their 18 league matches this season.

The teams will meet twice in the space of four days, as they face off again in the league on Sunday, but Allegri has all eyes on the cup fixture.

He added: “Tomorrow we’re facing a team on the up. Salernitana beat Verona away from home (on Saturday) and are well drilled, so we mustn’t underestimate them.

“We’ll face them once again on Sunday, but right now we’re focused on the cup. When the tie is over, we’ll turn our attention towards the league.

“It’s always tough to win matches. The further ahead you go, the smaller the margin for error, so we need to be good in that regard.”

Allegri confirmed trio Mattia Perin, Daniele Rugani and Federico Chiesa will all start for the cup clash but is undecided about the rest of his selection.

He said: “I still need to assess the rest. (Kenan) Yildiz won’t play tomorrow. When a young player is doing well, they get highly praised straight away. He needs to stay calm and keep working hard.

“I’ll certainly send the best possible team out there tomorrow. The stadium will be packed out, so even more reason for us to want to win.”

There will be no Grand National bid for Famous Bridge in 2024, but the improving stayer will be set some stern tests as he attempts to continue his rise up the chasing ranks.

Trained by Nicky Richards, the eight-year-old is becoming a real force over staying trips and made it back-to-back Haydock victories when landing the Tommy Whittle Chase just before Christmas.

His thirst for a stamina test and sure-footed jumping makes him the ideal candidate for the Grand National and sporting the colours of the Hemmings Family, the Aintree showpiece will always be high up on the agenda.

However, Richards is keen to keep building Famous Bridge’s chasing experience in the second half of the current campaign where he will seek to add to his burgeoning CV.

“He’s going along grand and he looks like he stays well, he’s a good, tough lad,” said Richards.

“I think myself and Mick (Meagher, racing manager to Hemmings Racing) thought it was probably just a year too soon (for the National).

“It was just his seventh run over fences in the Tommy Whittle and he is a lovely horse going forward. If he gets another two or three nice runs this year, hopefully we will be able to work towards the National next year.”

Options for Famous Bridge’s next outing include a return to Merseyside in search of a Haydock hat-trick in the Sky Bet Peter Marsh Chase on January 20 or wait an extra week for Doncaster’s Great Yorkshire Handicap Chase.

“There’s the Peter Marsh back at Haydock but I don’t know if that might come a week too soon for him,” added Richards.

“I haven’t done a great deal with him yet but he’s had canters and everything and everything seems grand with him so we will see.

“Then there is the Great Yorkshire the week after and we probably need a bit of rain there.

“There are nice races about for him and he’s a grand horse going forward. We will be racing him and he will be running in good races.”

However, it is unlikely the Cheltenham Festival will enter the equation with a further Town Moor contest, as well as Aintree and Ayr taking precedence when the season enters spring.

“Mr Hemmings loved Aintree and he loved the Ayr festival as well, so that will all be discussed as we go along, one race at a time,” continued Richards.

“You also have the Grimthorpe (at Doncaster) as well which is quite a valuable race now, so there are plenty of different options.

“That one (Grimthorpe) is early March, so it would probably be too quick to then go to Cheltenham.

“But we will be keeping our options open and he’s in grand old fettle and we are very happy with the way he is going along.”

The Jukebox Man will not be seen again until the spring following his fine third in Newbury’s Challow Hurdle.

Owned by football great Harry Redknapp, he was bought for £70,000 after impressing in the pointing field and since being beaten by the well-regarded Gidleigh Park on his rules debut, he has barely put a foot wrong for trainer Ben Pauling.

Two novice hurdle victories saw him stepped up in class for the final Grade One of 2023 and although failing to come away with victory, the six-year-old was less than two lengths adrift of eventual winner Captain Teague after being involved in a prolonged battle with both the Paul Nicholls-trained scorer and runner-up Lookaway up the Newbury straight.

That gives Pauling confidence that he has a special performer under his care and after being given plenty of time to recover from his Challow exertions, The Jukebox Man will be prepared for big-race targets in the spring.

He said: “We are really lucky at the moment to have some smart young horses, but he is definitely up there with the best of them.

“He’s particularly suited by that sort of ground and I’m not saying he does not have the speed or class for better ground, but I think he handles the soft very well.

“I thought he ran a lovely race and jumped particularly well and travelled strongly. Although four of them finished within two lengths of each other, rather than say the race wasn’t that strong, I think you probably have four nice horses.

“Lookaway brought very strong handicap form to the race and the others are very unexposed horses who have done nothing wrong in their preparation and are hopefully going to be smart horses for years to come.”

Pauling continued: “He won’t run again now until the spring. I just feel the Challow is always a gruelling enough test and I don’t think we can say this year is any different.

“Amazingly, he has come out of it very well indeed and is as fresh as a daisy. However, I think we will be saving him for something in the spring, whether that is Cheltenham, Aintree or even Perth.

“We will look to run once or twice max before the end of the season and although I think he will stay three miles very well, ground will probably determine which route we went really.

“I think he will definitely stay three, but if it came up soft I wouldn’t be afraid to leave him at two and a half and I think he is an absolute belter. He has a brilliant attitude, loves his job and I think he is going to be a very smart horse for the future.”

It was an exciting few days for both Pauling and Redknapp and although they fell short in the Challow, they received the perfect compensation package at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day when Shakem Up’Arry landed the valuable Paddy Power New Year’s Day Handicap Chase by an emphatic seven and a half lengths.

It was a long-awaited victory for the 10-year-old, who had been sent off favourite for the corresponding race in 2023 and had also placed over the course and distance at the Cheltenham Festival.

“He has always been knocking on the door of a big one without quite finding what is needed to get his head in front,” continued Pauling.

“Whether that be at the Festival or whenever he ran, he always seems to turn up, but has just fallen slightly short.

“We just gave him a tinker with his wind in the summer and whether it is that or not, I’m not sure, but it looks to be paying dividends and it is great for both Harry and the horse to get on the board in a big one and reap the rewards for almost Harry’s patience really.

“Harry couldn’t have been much happier, he was gutted not to be there, but he has always adored this horse – I think because he is named after him. He has owned him with me since he was a three-year-old and amazingly he turned 10 the other day which is frightening.

“He has always been fond of this horse and it was lovely to see him go and do it.”

Harlequins prop Joe Marler’s arm injury is being assessed by specialists amid front-row concerns for England ahead of the Guinness Six Nations.

Marler’s fellow loosehead props Ellis Genge, Bevan Rodd, Mako Vunipola and Val Rapava-Ruskin are all currently on the sidelines.

And Quins are awaiting a full medical verdict on Marler, who went off during the Gallagher Premiership victory over Gloucester at Twickenham on Saturday.

England head coach Steve Borthwick has potentially been presented with a major headache just a month before England’s Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome.

His problems include a four-match ban being imposed on Saracens’ Vunipola, who was sent off for a dangerous tackle against Premiership opponents Newcastle.

Although he will be available if required for the Six Nations, experienced campaigner Vunipola cannot play again until after Saracens’ Premiership appointment with Exeter, which is only a week before the Italy clash.

Vunipola missed out on the Rugby World Cup in France, with Borthwick choosing Genge, Marler and Rodd to fill three loosehead slots.

Genge, an England captaincy contender following Owen Farrell’s decision to miss the Six Nations, last featured for his club Bristol on December 2. He has been sidelined due to a hamstring injury.

Sale forward Rodd is out for the rest of this season after undergoing toe surgery and Gloucester’s Rapava-Ruskin, who was part of England’s World Cup training squad last year, is another long-term absentee following a knee operation.

Borthwick will announce his Six Nations squad in the near future, with prop resources seemingly being stretched.

On 88 times-capped Marler, Quins rugby director Billy Millard said: “We had three big injuries in the first-half to three very influential and key decision-makers on the pitch (Marler, Dino Lamb and Stephan Lewies).

“To be totally honest, they are still seeing specialists. I think some of them have turned out alright, but I am still not 100 per cent clear on the three. We are still waiting for total clarity.

“It’s his (Marler’s) arm, but again, they are getting MRIs and there are specialists looking at it and until I am 100 per cent clear I wouldn’t want to speculate.

“God love him, he battled on for a long time, but we have got specialists looking at him as we speak. I doubt very much he will be available for selection (against Newcastle on Friday).

“Fingers crossed, it is only a short-term one. Joe is Joe. He is big for us in so many ways. Hopefully, it is not a long one for him.”

On a positive note, Genge’s situation appears to be improving, with Bristol rugby director Pat Lam stating: “He is back running now, so he is on track.

“He is certainly going to make the Six Nations, whether he makes the start… the most important thing is that he gets back to playing.”

Buddy One is set to take a direct route to the Stayers’ Hurdle after he was found to be suffering from a back problem following his disappointing run at Leopardstown last week.

The seven-year-old provided trainer Paul Gilligan with a memorable Cheltenham victory in November, but has since come up short in two starts at Grade One level – finishing last of five in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse before being pulled up in the Jack de Bromhead Christmas Hurdle.

However, Gilligan has not lost any faith in his stable star and will now look to get him back to his best for the Cheltenham Festival in March.

He said: “He didn’t scope clear after the race the other day, but I think the main thing was he had a very sore back afterwards.

“I don’t know if he took a false step or what happened, but we had him away yesterday and all will be good, so we’ll look forward to March.

“He won’t run before then and I would imagine it will be the Stayers’ Hurdle – I don’t think there’s anything else for him really. We haven’t entered him for the Dublin Racing Festival because there is no race for these three-mile horses and I’m not going to rush him back.”

Buddy One is likely to be a big price for the Stayers’ Hurdle, with Hatton’s Grace hero Teahupoo and his Christmas Hurdle-winning stablemate Irish Point disputing favouritism with some bookmakers.

Gilligan added: “I thought he ran a nice race to a point the other day, but he just didn’t gallop through the line the way he can.

“It’s horses for courses, he seems to like Cheltenham and we’ll look forward to taking him back there before going over fences next season.

“Teahupoo is a good horse and Irish Point is a good horse, but we have form around that course, which is a big plus, and there’s a reason for his run in Leopardstown.”

Novak Djokovic is confident he can recover from a wrist injury in time for his Australian Open title defence.

The world number one struggled with a problem with his right wrist and was not at his best in a straight-sets defeat to Alex de Minuar in the United Cup in Perth.

Djokovic, bidding for a record-extending 11th men’s Australian Open singles title, lost 6-4 6-4 to world number 12 De Minaur as Australia beat Serbia 2-0 in their quarter-final in the mixed team event.

“Congrats to De Minaur, he was very solid from the beginning, just played a great match and deserved to win,” Djokovic said in a post-match interview.

“I was not at my level, but it was just one of these days where you didn’t feel your best on the court and your opponent played very well, that’s all I can say.

“I have enough time to get myself in the right shape for the Australian Open and that’s what matters the most at this point.

“I think I’ll be OK, to be honest, but it did have quite an impact, particularly on the forehand and serve.

“But, again, I don’t want to be too much time talking about it and taking away credit for the victory from De Minaur, he was just very solid as he always is.

“Congrats to him and to the Australian team. It is what it is for us I guess and I move on with my thoughts in Melbourne.”

Djokovic will find out his first-round opponent at Melbourne Park when the singles draw for the first grand slam of the year takes place on Sunday.

The 36-year-old needed a medical time-out for his wrist problem in his previous United Cup match against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka, which he won in three sets on Tuesday.

Against De Minaur he twice needed treatment, first after holding serve to lead 4-3 in the opening set and again after he had been broken to trail 5-4.

“I knew I was probably not going to be at 100 per cent physically, emotionally, mentally game-wise in the opening week of the season,” Djokovic added.

“Neither did I expect that or want that to be honest. It’s all a part of the build-up for the Australian Open.”

Despite Djokovic’s fitness concerns, De Minaur produced an impressive performance to seal one of the biggest wins of his career in just over an hour-and-a-half.

Ajla Tomljanovic followed De Minaur’s win by beating Serbia’s Natalija Stevanovic 6-1 6-1 to clinch Australia’s semi-final place.

Cannock Park has been handed a big local target by Borders handler Paul Robson after his pleasing third in Aintree’s Formby Novices’ Hurdle on Boxing Day.

Although a winner at Cheltenham on his hurdling bow, it was a bold move by Robson – who combines training his small string with running a funeral directors business – to run the six-year-old in the Christmas Grade One on just his second start over timber.

Cannock Park gave a fine account when attempting to make all in the hands of Craig Nichol and although well held by the front two, he plugged on gamely to make the podium at odds of 40-1.

Despite being pleased with the performance, Robson believes the gap to the front two is too much to bridge at present, with ambitions of running in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle switched for a crack at Kelso’s bet365 Morebattle Hurdle on March 2, where he will seek a famous local victory.

“He’s a lovely horse and he deserved his place in the race at Aintree,” said Robson.

“He was probably a lucky third given the horse that fell, but at the same time, I would say all roads don’t lead to the Supreme. I feel he is not quite that level.

“He’s going to be a lovely, lovely horse and we might look at the Morebattle at Kelso in early March, but we won’t be going to Cheltenham.

“The Morebattle is worth a lot of money and he needs two more runs to qualify, so he is going to have to be busy between now and then.

“He will probably go to Kelso on the 14th, there is just a normal class four novice and he will obviously have a penalty. If he runs there, then we will probably run him in a handicap three or four weeks after that in preparation for the Morebattle.”

A return to Aintree for further Grade One action in the spring is a possibility granted a decent performance in his Kelso target, but Robson is already looking forward to next season where he envisages Cannock Park making his mark over the larger obstacles.

“I imagine that is what he will do and if he runs a blinder in the Morebattle, we can go back to Aintree and if he doesn’t, he can have a break and come back as a novice chaser,” said Robson.

“I’ve never been too fussed about him being too quick over his hurdles as I’ve been trying to teach him to jump correctly. We’ve always wanted him to be a chaser, we know he is going to be a chaser and we hope he is going to be a high-class two-miler. That’s what I think his forte will be.”

Cannock Park is by far the best horse to pass through Robson’s hands and although initially disappointed his first foray into Grade One company ended in defeat, the handler is now delighted to be flying the flag for the Scottish Borders with his promising inmate.

Robson added: “We were utterly thrilled and I think the fact we have never been in races like that before, I was kind of gutted finishing third, but when you come away and start looking at it, you get an understanding of what we have just achieved, which is massive.

“We’re delighted and proud of the horse and just very excited. Every trainer I have bumped into when racing since has been chuffed for the horse and for me which is lovely, and they obviously have a lot more experience than me and are delighted there is a nice horse in the north which is super.”